


The Never-Ending Story: A Series of Drabbles

by redpearl



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Drabble, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-04
Updated: 2011-05-04
Packaged: 2017-10-19 00:16:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/194801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redpearl/pseuds/redpearl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of Jack and the Doctor, through regenerations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Never-Ending Story: A Series of Drabbles

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [wintercompanion](http://community.livejournal.com/wintercompanion)’s [ 2011 bingo challenge](http://wintercompanion.livejournal.com/tag/challenge%3A%202011%20bingo).  
> Prompts used see inside.

**  
_The price of forever_   
**

(Seven, Jack. Prompt: An earlier Doctor meets Jack and thinks he’s the villain)

Time Lords live practically forever.

Practically forever isn’t the same as forever.

There are some Time Lords who try to squeeze every second out of every one of their regenerations, they’re so careful with themselves the Doctor is tired just looking at them. There are also some Time Lords who get bored with their long lifespan and regenerate on a whim. Then, there are some Time Lords who are so greedy for life, they will do anything, rob, steal or murder, in order to gain more.

Like the Master.

And this impossibility before him, this human turned immortal, this immovable fact: what has he done, who has he stolen from, to gain his eternal life?

 

 **  
_His hands_   
**

(Seven, Jack. Prompt: hands)

It’s the second thing, after the immortality, that he notices of Jack…

Hands, strong and sure, steady on the weapon aimed at them; Hands, gripping tight to Ace’s arms, straining to pull her up; Hands, damaged, charred, lying still on the stretcher; Hands, grabbing onto the Doctor’s label, latching on him before even the first startled breath; Hands, fingers numb from cold, trembling as the Doctor covers them in his own palms…

The Doctor shakes Jack’s hand as they say goodbye. Someday, he’ll hold these hands again.

 

 **  
_Run_   
**

(Eight/Jack. Prompt: running)

“Run!” the Doctor shouted.

Without hesitation, Jack turned and ran, leaving the Doctor to struggle with the enraged guards at this terrorist base that they had broken into. Shots fired at him; he ducked and put on a burst of speed.

He ran out of the half-collapsed great hall, evading falling debris, running up the metal stairs, vaulting over the railing, knocking aside the remaining guards, kicking open the control room door. The room was a scene of devastation, just like everywhere else. Luckily, the central computer was still operating.

Before the computer, Jack steadied himself. The Doctor was still in the hall, trapped with half a dozen furious guards; Charley was imprisoned somewhere in the base, with only the sonic lipstick to save her; but Jack couldn’t think of them. He slotted the disk the Doctor had given him into position, and gave the computer new instructions, as he waited for the formulae to work.

The computer process seemed excruciatingly slow but could only have been a couple of minutes. As the red circle on the screen turned to green, the poisonous gas that had been readied to release into the general population was neutralised.

The threat was over, but there was no time to celebrate. It was time to run again.

“When the gas has been neutralised the base will go into self-destruct mode,” the Doctor had told him. “You need to get out as fast as you can. From the control room, turn left, run through the long corridor, turn left again at the junction. At the end of the hallway is a sealed window, break through and jump down to the landing. Then run away as fast as you can.”

So Jack ran. His heart pounding, his legs racing, knocking everything blocking him aside and rushing forward, he jumped through the broken window and rolled onto his feet, running away as fast as he could. The explosion of the base bowled him off his footing, and he landed facedown, covering his head, and waited for the shaking to stop.

The Doctor was all right. Jack knew that as he knew that he would always run when the Doctor told him to. The Doctor was all right, and so was Charley. They were waiting for him, if only the earth would stop shaking and let him get up to look…

Familiar hands caught him and helped him up, and he knew who it was without looking up. Jack swung around and caught the Time Lord in an urgent embrace. Only then, did he start to tremble. The Doctor returned his embrace, holding him for as long as he needed, petting his back and swaying a little, until Jack was able to let go, to step back and take a good look at the Doctor.

The Doctor smiled, as always, it ignited something warm inside him. He held out his hand. “Charley is waiting for us. Let’s go.”

Jack smiled back, taking the Doctor’s hand. As they walked together, Jack finally believed that, ten years after his failure with Grey, he was allowed to be happy.

 

 **  
_Gently go_   
**

(Eight/Jack. Prompt: AU!Wartime)

There was something different in the way the Doctor touched him tonight, making love to him so slowly, so gently like they had all the time in the universe, like the universe only had the two of them in it.

And Jack knew why.

The Time War was about to end.

He laced his fingers in the Doctor’s soft curls, and reached up for another kiss. The Doctor responded so thoroughly, with such quiet passion, that Jack felt he had never been kissed so well before.

In a way, it was like before, before the war, before the Doctor was hardened by all the darkness and savagery, but that was only on the surface. There was steel behind the gentleness of the Doctor’s caress; there was regret in his every touch, apology in his every kiss. He touched Jack like Jack was the only good thing in his life, like they were saying goodbye.

And Jack responded to every touch with love, every kiss with gratitude. It didn’t matter that the Doctor thought he had ruined Jack’s life; he knew that he was saved, even if he were to die tomorrow, or had never existed, he’d still consider well worth it for being be loved.

That night, Jack fell asleep to the sound of the familiar double heartbeat.

The next morning, he woke up to find that the Time Agency had erased two years of his memory.

 

 **  
_Familiar Stranger_   
**

(Nine/Jack. Prompt: jealousy)

 _The Doctor frowned at the scene in the kitchen._

 _Rose was cooking breakfast; the Captain was distracting her, trying to steal some food. She slapped his hand; he pouted, then whispered something in her ear, making her laugh so hard that she almost dropped the frying pan._

 _“Hey Doc,” the Captain saw him and called out, smiling that megawatt smile._

 _“Don’t call me Doc,” the Doctor retorted reflexively._

A sense of déjà vu hit the Doctor, making him feel unsettled. It didn’t feel right. Nothing about the situation with the Captain felt right.

It wasn’t jealousy. It wasn’t the pretty boy looks and charming conman ways which so easily enthralled Rose that got on his nerves. It was how easily and seamlessly the Captain had inserted himself into their lives, like he had always been there, a familiar presence.

But of course that wasn’t true, the Doctor knew he had never met the Captain before, although his Time Lord senses tingled whenever he tried to get a clear reading on the Captain.

He couldn’t see the Captain’s timelines.

So the Doctor really couldn’t be blamed for this need to push the Captain a little harder, to dig into him a little deeper, and to watch him that much closer.

 _The Doctor grinned as he found his target._

 _Jack was dancing with the beautiful Caxtarid; their steps flowed seamlessly together, it was a pity he had to cut in. Jack looked annoyed as the Doctor chased off his dancing partner and caught his shoulder in a steel grip._

 _“What did you do that for?” he demanded._

 _“The Monarch is on the move, come on!” The Doctor turned and run, never questioning that Jack would follow._

And if, when sometimes watching the Captain, the Doctor needed to curtail his flirting, well, that certainly wasn’t because of jealousy either.

 

 **  
_In heat_   
**

(Nine/Jack. Prompt: An alien STD)

It was like trying to subdue a wild cat.

The Doctor caught Jack’s hands again as he tried to tear the Doctor’s clothes, along with a few strips of skin, from his body. The Caxtarids were a dangerous race, although very attractive to humans, so it wasn’t a surprise that Jack had finally caught ‘Caxtaridian heat’. The Doctor sighed. He really should put a leash on the lad.

Sensing his inattention, Jack shoved hard, knocking him back onto the bed. He fell onto the Doctor’s body and clawing into him. The Doctor caught his arms, rolling them over and holding Jack down with his greater strength. Jack bucked up, rubbing himself against him. The heated body squirming beneath him was having an unfortunate effect on the Doctor’s self-control.

He closed his eyes and tried to centre himself, but Jack’s head shot up and took a bite at the Doctor’s lips. The touch was electric, desire flooding over the Doctor’s mental barriers, swamping him in its passion. Their lips sealed together, waves of want and need rushed forth, combined with love that was deeper and more mature than the Doctor had ever suspected.

 _Want you! Need you!_

As an agile tongue plundered his mouth, Jack’s frustrated desire battered at the Doctor, demanding to know why he wasn’t responding the way he wanted. The Doctor tried to calm him, tried to hold the splinters of their mental barrier together, and to keep the rushes of emotions out. These waves of craving were even harder to resist than the feelings of the delicious body underneath him. Still, the Doctor tried soothed him, gentling their kiss, trying to clear up the lust-filled haze in Jack’s mind, even though his own mind was being taken over by hunger and lust.

 _Control yourself, it wouldn’t be right. The lad isn’t in his right mind._

Jack blinked, and seemed to hear the Doctor’s thought. Slowly, and with difficulty, he ended the kiss, panting harshly. Even though his fingers were still digging into the Doctor’s arms, he made himself lie back down.

 _Even without the ‘heat’, I’d still want you as much as I want you now,_ Jack sent to the Doctor. _Please_. His blue eyes begged, even as he fought his own body to stay still. _Please love me._

“Oh, Jack,” the Doctor sighed, surrendering to both of their desires, and sinking into their second kiss like sinking into their most coveted dream.

 

 **  
_Forgiveness_   
**

(Ten, Jack. Prompt: angry!Jack/Doctor.)

Another star, another bar, and Jack tried again to unsuccessfully drink himself to death. Someone sat down beside him, a familiar someone who had been tracking his progress for the past three months.

“Did you know?” he asked. He had to find out.

“Yes.”

“Then where the hell were you?” He had tried to contact the Doctor. Martha, Mickey, Sarah Jane, UNIT, everyone who knew the Doctor had tried to contact him.

The Doctor didn’t answer.

“Wasn’t earth under your protection? Where the hell were you?” Jack shouted in the Doctor’s face. He couldn’t stop himself. Anger burned in him. He was angrier and more hurt even than when the Doctor had abandoned him on a station full of corpses, or when he told Jack he was wrong and shouldn’t exist.

In Jack’s more sober moments, he’d try to tell himself that the Doctor didn’t owe earth his services, that he had saved the earth a million times over. But he was not sober, and he couldn’t help his sense of betrayal. They had needed his help and the Doctor wasn’t there.

“I’m sorry,” the Doctor apologised, brown eyes full of pain and sympathy.

It was like punching air. Jack suddenly deflated, all his anger gone. He was blaming the Doctor for something that wasn’t the Doctor’s fault, in fact blaming the Doctor for his own failure and monstrosity. He wanted to Doctor to save them, to save him; some part of Jack always waited for the Doctor to save him, only now he was beyond saving.

“Go away.” He turned back to his drink. There was nothing more to be said.

The Doctor stood up. Jack thought he was leaving so was surprised to feel light kiss on the top of his head, so fleeting it was over before he could react.

“I forgive you,” the Doctor whispered.

The Doctor left. Jack was still in his chair, frozen, his drink forgotten, tears running down his face.

 

 **  
_Goodbye and hello_   
**

(Eleven/Jack. Prompts: Street corner, two in the morning & out of sequence )

On a lonely morning, on a quiet street corner, Jack said goodbye to the Doctor.

As always, he wanted to stay; as always, he couldn’t. He watched as the Doctor and Ace left in the TARDIS, leaving him alone again. Jack stared at the spot TARDIS had been, feeling lost. It had been nice to see the Doctor again, even if it was a Doctor he had never met before, it was still his Doctor.

He fancied he could still hear the sound of TARDIS leaving.

Jack frowned. No, he **could** still hear the sound of the TARDIS. The TARDIS was arriving again. Excitement shot through him even though he knew nothing was changed; he still couldn’t risk the integrity of the timelines to stay with this Doctor, but he couldn’t crash down his eagerness as he waited for the Doctor to come out again.

The TARDIS door opened, and a young man in a bow tie stepped out.

“Hullo, Jack,” the new Doctor waved, and the hug he gave Jack was easy and free, the way it never had been before.

“Doctor?” hugging back reflexively, Jack asked in confusion.

“That’s right,” the Doctor smiled at him, happiness radiating from inside to out, “I’ve come to take you home.”

It was too good to be true, Jack was sure he must be dreaming.

The Doctor smiled, tinged with a little sadness. He kissed Jack tenderly, “I’ve **so much** to tell you, my Jack.”

Closing his eyes, Jack kissed the Doctor back, and swore to himself that if this was a dream, then let him never wake up again.

 

 **  
_Not a proposal_   
**

(Eleven/Jack. Prompt: Will you marry me?)

This wasn’t the best wedding Jack had ever had.

The band was terrible and the food was atrocious, but considering none of the guests had been eaten by a hungry monster, and the bride, groom and other groom were still able to stand upright to complete the ceremony, it was better than expected.

“They look happy,” the Doctor said beside him.

“People are always happy when they’ve just got married,” Jack replied. Even Jack was happy on his wedding days, although the same couldn’t be said for his marriages. They all ended eventually, the best ones in death and grief, the worst in resentment and hatred.

The Doctor tugged at his tie. “I suppose that’s true. They just escaped death too, that will contribute to their happiness. Although couples who didn’t have death-defying experiences are generally happy at their weddings, too, unless they didn’t want to get married, or sometimes even when they wanted to. Like me, I was a nervous wreck on my wedding day. Can’t say I felt happy at all. Actually felt like I was going to step into the time vortex without a capsule…”

Jack turned to look at the Doctor, who rarely, if ever, mentioned his life on Gallifrey. But the Doctor didn’t notice, he was still babbling, “… should have known, it was exactly like stepping into the time vortex without a capsule.”

Jack couldn’t help his smile as the Doctor’s mouth run away from him as usual. He interrupted, knowing the Doctor had probably lost the plot already, “Doctor, is there a point?”

The Doctor suddenly seemed nervous, looking down at his shoes. “Well, I mean, we’re happy, right?”

Jack’s smile softened and he reached out and took the Doctor’s hand, “Yeah. We are.”

“We’re not married. Not that I want to change that fact, because I’ll make a dreadful husband. I just thought, I have never told you…” The Doctor was staring hard at his shoes, his hand squeezing Jack’s tighter. “I want to be **not married** to you, for as long as I possibly can… If that’s alright with you?” He finally looked up the Jack, suddenly young and vulnerable.

Jack blinked back the sudden tears in his eyes, finding it difficult to breathe, but replied casually, “of course.”

This was the best wedding Jack had ever had.

 

 **  
_The never-ending story_   
**

(After Thirteen!Doctor/Jack. Prompt: Forever is a long time)

It was like the universe was new again, when the Doctor regenerated for the thirteenth time.

Death had been hanging on their heads for so long, that when its shadow lifted, they were afraid to breathe for fear of it coming back, but slowly the happiness sank in and they began life again, dancing, travelling, living and loving.

It was like a never-ending fairy tale.

Sometimes, it felt like their lives only began when they met each other; although in darker times, they felt they had been together too long, had known each other too well, and loved each other too much. Sometimes, that was worse than not loving each other at all.

So, they said goodbye, and tried to live separate lives. Find someone, some planet, some cause to settle down and be happy with; or find something, some experience, some trouble to travel to, and just be… alive.

They had their share of misery. Mortal beings were not meant for immortal span. The weight of age, of love and loss, of hope and madness, pressed heavily on them, making them hard and fragile, damned and redeemed.

In the end, life was good, even when it was bad; they were together, even when they were apart. No matter how long were they apart, they always knew, someday, they’d be together again. After all, they had forever.

And forever is a long time.

 **The End**


End file.
